FARMINGTON (KFSM) -- The effects left behind a sobering image of the magnitude of Friday night's (Dec. 16) gas explosion in Farmington.
The Farmington Fire Department said the incident stemmed from a ruptured gas meter that was hit by a car.
Fire chief Mark Cunningham said the line was not barricaded.
"When they built the highway, it was a two lane highway. When they widened it, it got closer to it," Cunningham said. "So, they didn't need anything before."
As the flames raged throughout the night and into the early morning, Rick Davis of Black Hills Energy said workers back at Black Hill Energy's Lowell location were constructing a new gas meter setting.
The new meter was replaced with the new setting that included a yellow barricade.
"Even though it did not have a guard before, we went ahead and put one in anyway," Davis said.
Barricades are installed on a meter by meter basis, according to Davis.
No rules are in place that require such guards, which chief Cunningham said is understandable.
"A lot of times you don't do that unless something like this happens," Cunningham said. "You can't go around doing every one in the county like that."
The new guard will help protect against the gas meter setting, but Davis warned that the barricade is not an end all be all.
"Depending on the rate of speed of a vehicle, sometimes that guard will not be sufficient," Davis said.